Best of CES 2017

The best—and weirdest—technologies, innovations, and high-tech gadgetry from the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show.

A week back from CES 2017, and my mind is still reeling from experience.

So many toys, so many sensors, so much full-on, out-of-the-box innovation. Not all of it will last, sure. Not all of it is useful or practical, maybe. But the gadgets and technologies presented at CES serves as a neat benchmark for every industry.

It was clear through the millions of square feet of the place, that the world might finally be ready for robots. That more of our lives are going to be automated soon, augmented by digital technologies and smart devices. That in just three or four years, just about everything in our lives will be connected.

Here is a (very small) glimpse of what I uncovered at the event, starting with what seems important and relevant to the manufacturing industry—augmented reality built for engineers, collaborative industrial robots, desktop metal printing, autonomous vehicles, and more—and then sliding quickly into the weird stuff—all the way from dancing robots to Wookies.